1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to four and seven way connector assemblies for communicating a vehicle""s electrical system with corresponding four or seven way input connectors extending from conventional trailer tow packages. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a single unit assembly which combines both the seven and four way fret connectors, the combined assembly capable of being secured at an appropriate location, such as to the rear bumper of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The towing of work and recreational trailers and campers, behind a vehicle, is well known in the art. For reasons of safety and convenience, it is necessary to communicate the towing vehicle""s electrical supply system to electrically operable accessories located on the wheeled trailer or camper being towed. The number of such accessories typically range from the rear lights of a trailer, usually requiring up to four metal fret connectors, to up to several electrical accessories, including again rear lights and additional refrigeration, heating, and/or power supply requirements typical of tow-behind campers.
The existence of four way and seven way fret connectors, these being the power supply terminals to which the power input cords of the trailer or RV plugs into, are by themselves known in the art. The prior art contemplates the 7 way and 4 way connectors being separately connected to the vehicle""s electrical system and extending, in substantially freely hanging fashion, from the vehicle""s rear bumper. The prior art also includes the provision of a separately engageable adapter and which, depending upon which input side is engaged, adapts an output side to either a 4 way or 7 seven way connector. Additionally, power switching functions for various trailer/RV options are further accomplished through components packaged inside the vehicle or under the hood. Among the disadvantages attendant with having separate 4 and 7 way connectors at the rear of the vehicle is the requirement that the both such connectors must always be made available in the event a customer requests a trailer tow option on the vehicle.
Additional examples of prior art connectors including the unified connector interface, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,389 issued to Hughes. The connector interface mounts on a towing vehicle and is adapted to provide electrical connection with any one of a plurality of towed vehicle wiring harness electrical connectors. The unified connector interface is adapted to receive a selected round connector having a plurality of connectors extending from the towed vehicle wiring harness. The unified connector interface is also adapted to provide an interface between complimentary connectors and with piggyback double electrical connectors, as well as with individual or two wire connectors. The housing of the device is further sized to receive a circuit board therein, which aligns the connectors on the first side with the connectors on the second side.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,204, issued to Hughes, teaches a wiring harness adapter and method for fabricating in which the adapting has particular application for mating a four-way flat harness connector of a trailer at one end and a complex round harness connector with numerous terminals at an opposite end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,009, also issued to Hughes, teaches another variation of a wire harness adaptor and method for connecting the vehicle electrical system to the tow vehicle and in particular to a 4 way flat harness connector.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,848, issued to Silvey, discloses a trailer accessory for protectably receiving trailer plugs and in which a boot having one or more plug receptacles is connected to the tongue of a trailer as well as for holding the trailer chains. The boot is constructed of a pliable thermoplastic rubber elastomer with form fitted plug receptacles for receiving the trailer plugs, for such as lighting and braking the trailer. A base of the unit includes a central aperture for creating an interference fit with the boot and outboard slots for receiving the ends of trailer chains and the base is further connected to the tongue of the trailer by threaded fasteners.
The present invention discloses an integral housing combining both seven way and four way fret connectors into a single unit, the combined assembly capable of being secured at an appropriate location, such as to the rear bumper of the vehicle, and of providing effective communication of a towing vehicle""s electrical supply to an input harness associated with a tow behind vehicle, such as again may include a trailer, recreational vehicle or the like. The present invention is further an improvement over the prior art in that it does away with the need for separate 7 and 4 way connectors, as well as the use of adapters, in favor of a single housing construction displaying both the 4 and 4 way connector inputs in proximate and engageable fashion. The present invention further enables the use of light gauge signal wires extending from the vehicle to the unit housing and provides high current switching content from congested areas of the vehicle electrical system to areas without congestion.
The housing for the connector assembly may be provided as a single piece or, alternatively, as first and second assembleable portions. The housing includes a top and a plurality, typically four, interconnected sides which defines a three dimensional module.
A plurality of circuits are contained within the housing and are incorporated, in one variant, into a circuit board which communicates with pluralities of four and seven terminals which define, respectively, the four and seven way connectors. Typically, a total of seven circuits are provided, for accommodating the requirements of the 7 way connector, and a subset four of these circuits are shared with the 4 way connector.
Additional pluralities of electrical components, including fuses, mechanical relays and the like, are secured to the circuit board and provide circuit protection and power switching functions to the module. Alternatively, these components may be incorporated into the vehicles existing electrical system and the combined 4 and 7 way module limited to the basic circuit arrangement and terminal pluralities.
The terminals of the first variant include the provision of metal frets which are soldered by solder tails upon a selected face of the circuit board and interiorly configured receiving holes are further defined within the frets for facilitating the subsequent engagement by the towed input harness. An insulator layer is typically provided between the metal frets and the circuit board and acts as a spacer as well as to mechanically isolate the fret solder tails from the circuit board solder joints. Access covers corresponding to each of the 7 and 4 way connectors are defined upon the housing and are actuable to reveal the pluralities of terminals, or frets, corresponding to the individual connectors.
A further variant discloses the application of the printed circuit board for establishing all of the electrical connections between the terminals and without the provision of the metal frets. A potting material encapsulates the printed circuit and in order to relieve component mechanical strain.
A yet further variant discloses the circuit board substituted by an insert molded components integrating metal stampings and a plasticized insulator and which also provides the mechanical features for terminal strain relief and electrical conduction. A still further variation teaches the use of a flexible circuit integrating an electrically conductive foil and plastic insulating laminate and to which the components are soldered. A potting material again may be utilized to encapsulate the components associated with the flexible circuit and to provide mechanical strain relief.